From our CEO
Ross Joyce
Welcome to the latest edition of AFDO eNews.
This year has seen many challenges for people with disability and their families as everyone adjusts to living through a global pandemic. However, the impact COVID-19 has had on people with disability is a cause for real concern. Once again we’ve seen people with disability disadvantaged further as we saw Disability Support Pension recipients miss out on receiving the CoronaVirus Supplement that JobSeeker recipients received. This is despite people with disability having higher living costs in general, and with the pandemic we have seen the costs of groceries, medications, transport and personal protective equipment (PPE) rise sharply.
Recently, the Disability Royal Commission held a public hearing on the experiences of people with disability during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. AFDO, along with many others in the disability community submitted a written Statement and also gave evidence at the hearing about how people with disability have been impacted by the pandemic.
Our Statement to the Disability Royal Commission included sixteen recommendations, including to immediately increase the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and Carer Payment the same as the increase in the JobSeeker Payment to acknowledge the increased cost of living and loss of employment or opportunities for DSP recipients. You can read AFDO’s full Statement and the supporting evidence that we presented to the Disability Royal Commission on the AFDO website.
Below is an overview of some of our work, as well as other important news for the disability sector. I hope you enjoy this edition of AFDO eNews.
Please follow this link to keep reading AFDO eNews #13 (Sept 2020)
